


Siblings by Heart

by VGJoker2015



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Day 1: Night Out, F/M, ShuAnn Week 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:20:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24442729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VGJoker2015/pseuds/VGJoker2015
Summary: Wanting to save her from her boredom and add a bit of family time to his day, Akira brings Futaba along for a sleepover at Ann's place. (Side Chapter of Heart Flight Home)
Relationships: Amamiya Ren & Takamaki Ann, Kurusu Akira/Takamaki Ann
Kudos: 7





	Siblings by Heart

**Author's Note:**

> GOD, is this late! Lol XD  
> Anyway, since this takes place in Ann's apartment, this a "Day 1: Night In" piece.

**It’s** **Sunday!** Which means no school. All homework was finished, all student council work was caught up on, today is his rest day from his jobs to gather money for the Big Day, and it was a beautiful day outside. So what was the prideful delinquent president to do with-

“I’m off to Annie’s, Boss! See ya tomorrow!”

**… Of course.**

Akira is hoisting his overnight bag onto his back as he exits Leblanc to spend the night at his fiance’s place… **again.** Like he’s done **every** week.

“Sheesh! You two might as well get surgically joined at the hips with how much time you spend together,” Sojiro chuckles.

“Why else do you think we’re getting married next year?” Akira smirks. “I just can’t imagine any moment of my life going forward without her in it in one form or another.”

“Heh… You’re just as much of a hopeless romantic moron as you are a troublemaker.”

“Mock me all you want. I’m still heading to her house. Again, see ya tomorrow!” As Akira is marching out of the cafe, he runs into Futaba.

"Oh hey… Off to her place again, I see," Futaba says.

"You know it. What're **you** doing today?" Akira asks.

"It's… actually going to be a pretty uneventful day. I'm taking a break from the apps, there aren't any new shows or streams I'm interested in seeing… I guess I could start working on my video game and manga backlogs, but…"

Akira couldn't help but feel bad. He's going to have fun with his girl, but it sounds like his baby sister really isn't looking forward to this lazy day, which is a huge rarity for her.

"Eh, I'm rambling at this point," Futaba shrugs as she heads to the cafe door. "I'm heading inside. See ya tomorrow-"

**"Hold it right there."**

Futaba stops and turns back Akira, who pulls out his phone to call Ann after realizing something: When was the last time the three pseudo siblings spent the day with each other?

"Hey, what's up?" Ann asks.

"Ann-pan, we have a situation," Akira says, putting her on speaker phone. "Futaba's depressed because she’s in for a boring day all by herself in her room."

" **Objection!** I didn't say that!" Futaba exclaims.

 _"Aww! Is my poor wittle baby sister wonewy?"_ Ann teases.

"Hey, I know I'm little, but I'm not a damn preschooler!"

"Sorry, sorry! Anyway, Akira's sleeping over… You wanna pack an overnight bag and come too?"

"Fancy you ask that, Annie," Akira chuckles. "I was thinking the same-"

" **Rock hard pass.** "

Akira does a shocked anime fall to the ground at Futaba's response. " **What?! Why?!** "

" **Me** , sleepover with **you two** and risk not getting any sleep because you spend the late night screwing each other's brains out?" she asks, narrowing her eyes and shoving her hands in her jacket pockets. **_"Nooo, thank you~!_** _"_

"O-Of course we're not gonna do that with you in the other room!" Ann yells.

_"Sure you aren't~!"_

"Why are you making it sound like we have no self control?" Akira groans.

"I wonder… Was it out of **self control** that you two fooled around in one of those brick showers on the beach in Kamakura back in March?" Futaba asks. Fortunately, Akira knows Futaba well enough to know that's a trick to make him slip up and he keeps himself composed. Unfortunately…

" **WHAT?!** H-How did you know about that?!" Embarrassment and shame ruins that for Ann.

 **"Ann… You just told her,"** Akira deeply sighs. Futaba sports a cocky toothy grin as there is a brief moment of silence before a beep goes off on Akira's phone. _"Aaaand she hung up."_

 _"So what was that about self control?"_ Futaba snickers. Akira pinches the bridge of his nose in frustration and shakes his head.

"You are such a pain sometimes," he huffs. "Look, _Alibaba,_ you can die alone from boredom in that dark little tomb you call your room or come hang with me and your sis at her place. Your pick."

 _"Hehehe! Weeell, since you guys are pretty much my big brother and sister and all,"_ Futaba grins, pushing up her glasses. "You don't need to twist my arm. I will happily grace you both with my holy presence."

**xxx**

After gathering Futaba’s stuff and giving their foster dad the heads-up, Akira and Futaba head straight to Ann's place.

Upon arriving at her doorstep, Futaba rings her doorbell. _"Ann Takamaki, we have come for thee!"_ she bellows.

Ann opens the door and pats Futaba on her head. "I hear you, Ms. Gremlin," she chuckles. "I got some snacks the three of us can munch on for… whatever it is we're doing."

 _"Look at my Ann-pan, always prepared,"_ Akira snickers as he and Futaba enter her apartment, pecking her on her cheek.

"I **know** you're just saying that to make me blush," Ann pouts.

"Yes. And it's working."

 _"Yes. And I_ **_hate_ ** _it."_ Ann sees Futaba start throwing her stuff all over the place. " **Hey!** You think this is a pigsty or something? Put your stuff in the guest bedroom. **Neatly.** "

"Says the model with a sea of apparel flooding the floor of her room, I’m guessing," Futaba retorts.

"C'mon, girls. We're all young adults here," Akira says. "So… what do we do first?" Ann narrows her eyes at her man and puts at hand on her hip.

"First order of business," she smirks. "Figuring out what you two pervs love so much about that GxG anime. It must be something if it's making **you** , of all people, dance to something like the "Grabbin' Dragon" song."

" ** _UGH!_** For the love of god, can we **please** just move past that already?" Akira groans.

"We're not **total** pervs for watching it," Futaba explains. "Really, it's more for the lols than anything else. Yeah, it shows bare boobs in pretty much every episode, but the fan service is played off in a way that it's more funny than sexy. Plus, the story's actually pretty good."

"Hm… I'll be the judge of that."

"Got the whole aired series in my bag, so knock yourself out."

**xxx**

So they ended up binge watching the whole first season and… Ann had to admit it: the show is pretty funny, even with all the fan service. She couldn't wait to hear about the Grabbin Dragon Song, so they showed the moment its origin comes up in season three, where they are showing Daichi’s many perv moments on TV while Zeazal is explaining his recent spike in popularity in the Underworld.

_“The audience especially loves when you make bold proclamations about things like boobies. You’re known across the land as the Breast Dragon Emperor.”_

_“_ **_You’re kidding! Tell me you’re joking!_ ** _”_

_“The kids love you most of all. They made up a song about you called the Grabbin Dragon.”_

_“..._ **_Just kill me~..._ ** _”_

“Well, you can’t really blame them with all the stuff he says and does,” Ann awkwardly laughs. “I mean, he literally made a power that lets him strip girls naked with a snap of his fingers.”

“And his partner’s **definitely** not happy about it,” Futaba says, redirecting Ann’s attention to the TV just in time to hear Daichi’s dragon partner bawling a river.

 _“But I’m one of the Celestial Dragons! The mere mention of my name is supposed to strike fear in the hearts of millions! But now, I’m the_ **_Breast_ ** _Dragon Emperor!_ **_All hail Grabbin Dragon! Uwaaahaaa~!_** _”_

“I-I’d be upset too if my perverted partner dragged my name through the mud with his horniness,” Akira laughs as he turns off the TV.

“ **Wait! Hold on!** ” Ann exclaims. “... **Kids** are his biggest fans? Kids **watch** him?!”

“ **Ann.** It’s pretty much **Hell,** ” Futaba says. “You really think they have age restrictions?”

_“... Touche."_

“Heck, according to the light novels, they even made a kid’s **play** about him!”

“Alright, enough GxG talk,” Akira says. “Pretty sure you get the point by now. What’s next?” Futaba rushes over to her bag and pulls out a game.

 _“_ ** _MA-RI-O PAR-TY~!_** _”_ she exclaims

Ann nervously bites her lip. “You’re trying to make us hate each other?”

**xxx**

Current target of hate: **Akira Kurusu**

Already having a good one Star lead in the game, Akira spends ten coins to make another 1/3 gamble for another star.

“It’s gonna happen,” Futaba (2nd) sighs. “You know it’s gonna happen.”

“ **Please don’t,** ” Ann (Dead Last) prays. The chest opens, giving him… **another Star! “Oh my GOD!”**

“I’ll be taking that!” Akira laughs, confidently pushing up his glasses.

“Will you guys stop lucking out already?! I wouldn’t be as angry if I at least had **one** point!”

The flying treasure chests spread out across the board again.

“One in the space port,” Futaba calls out. “One in the desert and… one at the skyscraper… **which Akira has just enough movement left to get.** ” The leader in question snickers mischievously, going for it.

 _“Let's reshuffle the spaces again!”_ he jokes.

“Cheeks full of chips,” Ann says. “I’m stuffing my face if that’s-”

**Another Star, it is.**

Akira: “ **I AM Joker! Ha ha haaa!** ”

Ann: **_*Cruuunch!*_ **

Futaba: “Hey, those were **my** chips, you glutton!”

**xxx**

**Curry time!**

Ann and Futaba happily wait at the counter and watch Akira as he intently focuses on the steaming pot of curry before him at the stove.

"My stud muffin looking so composed as he slaves away at the kitchen," Ann giggles. "I never get tired of seeing this."

"Please don't make me barf before dinner time," Futaba sighs. "... Actually, no. **Do** make me barf. That way I can eat more."

"I'm holding you to that, Ann," Akira says. "You'll be seeing it pretty much every day after next summer." Once he's finally done, he makes two plates for the girls and sets them in front of them, along with two glasses of ice water, along with a big pitcher of it, just in case. "Last time I put my own spin on Boss's curry, it turned out spicy as hell. Here's hoping I dialed it down enough."

Ann+Futaba: " **Thanks for the food!** "

The two scoop up spoonfuls of rice and curry and puts them in their mouths.

"Well?" Akira asks. After a few seconds, the girl's faces started burning red and their eyes turn bloodshot and start watering.

Ann: "... Mm...? **MMMMPH?!** "

Futaba: " **MMMMPH!!!!!** "

"What's wrong?!" Akira asks. They start screaming as smoke blasts from their ears and fire ignite in their mouths.

" **Hot** **hot!** " Futaba screams. **"HothothothothothotHOT!** "

" ** _Agggggh!_ WATER! I need water!**" Ann shouts as she and Futaba scramble for their waters. Akira rubs the back of his neck and heaves a deep sigh as they start fighting over the pitcher after the glasses weren't enough.

"Still too spicy, huh? Good thing I made a batch of the normal stuff as a back-up."

**xxx**

After that, the three sit down on the living room couch for a sci-fi, Buddhist, Hinduism fantasy anime movie… Except it’s not an actual movie. Really, it’s just a video game that has an amazing story and jaw dropping cutscenes, but the gameplay is extremely lacking, so they just watch the whole thing as a movie like everyone else tends to do for it.

“I will show this to anyone who says video games aren’t a form of art,” Futaba declares.

"You should show this to Yusuke," Akira suggests as he takes some popcorn from the bowl Ann is holding. "I think he'd appreciate the art direction and ties to religion."

"It's hard to imagine how much time was put in to make characters," Ann says. "The level of detail is crazy."

"And yet, they couldn't bother to make the gameplay as epic as the cutscenes," Futaba sighs. Akira tosses some popcorn over to Ann and she catches it in her mouth. He does the same with Futaba and she catches too.

 _Hm… How to train your girls,_ he thinks, finding this amusing. He does it to Ann again, then Futaba, then Ann again, then Futaba again. When he tries them both, they instead grab a separate hand and…

**_*CHOMP!*_ **

Akira: **_"YEOW!"_ **

Ann+Futaba: " **We're NOT circus animals!"**

In the end, it was overall a pretty chill day.

**xxx**

After Futaba took her bath, the engaged couple went in for theirs, assuring her that they're **just** bathing tonight.

"Gosh, it feels like it's been forever since the three of us hung out together like this," Ann says, laying back on her man in the tub.

"It **has** been," Akira confirms. "We've been so busy and all. Don't get me wrong. Time alone with you is the best time, but this is a nice change of pace."

"Feeling's mutual… In fact, let's try to do this more often. I mean, she'll legally be my family too soon, y'know?"

"I like the sound of that." Akira looks up at the ceiling in thought, recalling all of the precious moments he's had with Futaba. "... Still can't believe I have a little sister now. I was so used to being an only child that I never really thought about what it would be like."

"You read my mind," Ann chuckles, looking up with him. "It's like... she was a huge part of my life before I even knew it."

At first, she was just a troublemaking hacker who was playing them like a fiddle, but once they heard about her and her situation… they quickly became people who would gladly throw themselves into the belly of the beast to help her.

**xxx**

**_"yOU'rE gOIng tO dIE! thErE Is nO mEAnIng tO yOUr lIfE! nO OnE nEEds yOU!"_ **

_"... Nobody cares about me…"_

During the heist of Futaba's Palace of Wrath, the Phantom Thieves had been overwhelmed by the cognitive monster Wakaba Isshiki while Futaba, who had wandered in by herself, was suffering another episode.

"Hey! Kid, that's not true!" Joker shouted as he held her, trying to snap the pint-sized hacker out of it. Monster Wakaba's wing beat gale started making everyone slide back.

"Hey, we're gonna be in deep shit if this keeps up!" Skull warned.

"So, because she thinks she killed her mother," Queen deduced. "And because she thinks she deserves to die… Futaba gave birth to a Palace in which her mother wants her dead…?"

"Futaba-chan, look! There's no one that monster's your mother!" Panther told her. "It's just an illusion you created!"

"B-But…" Futaba clawed at her orange hair as her piercing headaches and the voices of wrath continued to plague her.

"She never abused you, did she?" Queen asked. "Boss told us! He said she did her best to raise you on her own!"

"Isn't this just a false memory being forced upon you?!" Fox questioned.

"A false… memory…?" Futaba repeated before her mind was attacked again and Monster Wakaba continued to scream.

**_"EnOUgh prEtEndIng! nO OnE cOUld EvEr lOvE thIs dEmOn chIld! yOU All ArE Only hErE tO UsE hEr! OncE yOU'rE dOnE wIth hEr, yOU'll thrOw hEr AwAy!"_ **

At first, the thieves were shocked, but they remember that this is Futaba's heart. Of course the monster would know that they need her to deal with Medjed. Sure, she may have known their initial intention, but there was one thing she **didn't** know.

Joker: "News flash! **I don't give a damn about that anymore!**

Panther: "Me neither! **I'm just here for** **_her!_ **"

That certain people's priorities were switched.

The couple's words cut through the voices of wrath and catch Futaba's attention.

"That feeling of loneliness in a dark cruel world!" Joker shouted at the monster. "The pain of everyone looking at you like you're some kind of monster when you've done nothing wrong! I know what that's like! It's completely unfair and no one should ever have to go through that!"

"The crappiest people are always looking for something to get to you!" Panther exclaimed. "Where you're from, how you talk, what you look like! Being judged and having lies being spread about you by people who don't even really know you is the worst! But that doesn't mean there isn't someone out there who will accept you for who you are and care about you!" She turned her attention to Futaba and firmly grasped her right hand in both of hers.

“Hey… you know all those texts I sent you?” she asked her as she smiled. “I asked you everyday if you were doing okay. I told you everyday that we were doing everything we could to help you and let you know how close we were. It’s because I wanted to keep the thought of killing yourself **way** out of your mind." The pain from her heart arose onto her face as she recalled her own experiences on the matter. "Suicide… it does a lot. Not just to you, but… to the people who care about you. And you definitely have people like that in your life."

Joker followed his girl's example and took Futaba's left hand and firmly grasped it in his. "It's not just Sojiro," he told her. "You know how I recently volunteered to take curry to your door and spend some time just talking before leaving? I'd tell you a funny story, crack a few jokes, or sing a song right before telling you it's going to be okay and leaving."

Futaba intently at Joker, then looked down at his hands. "... I-I... remember a really stupid snowman song," she mumbled. As Joker laughed, the monster Wakaba roared.

"Uh, guys?! Anytime now!" Skull shouted.

"Skull! Quiet!" Mona exclaimed, knowing what Joker and Panther were doing.

Joker put his hand on her back. "Now, tell me," he said. "Do you **really** think no one cares about you? Would people who just wanted to use you really go through all that trouble to make you feel better when all they had to do was steal your heart?" Joker and Panther level their guns at the monster, protecting her.

"You don't need anyone's permission to live!" Panther shouted. "No one can take that right away from you! Especially not your mom, who would never do that to you! This thing isn't her and you know it!"

"Those rotten bastards lied to you, used you, made you think you're a plague for their own gain!" Joker added. "If **anyone** deserves hell, it's **them!** " Joker gripped Futaba's hand as he gave her one last push. **_"Futaba! Don't let anyone chain you down! Hold fast to your freedom! Fight back!"_ **

With these last words cancelling out the wrath, Futaba was able to listen to the voice of her Shadow and face the truth. Having purged herself of the distortion, she gathered all of her strength to stand up again, still holding the couple's hands. When she stood firmly on both feet, a pulsing headache struck her, triggering her awakening.

**_"What denies you is an illusion. A curse put upon you by the heartless. You knew all along, and yet you coward in fear."_ **

_"That's right… I knew… but…"_

**_"Will die as you are told? Who will you obey? Lies spat out by a seething illusion… or the truth within your own soul?"_ **

Futaba stared down the monster fake with all her courage.

"I won't let those distorted lies trick me anymore."

**_"It's yOUr fAUlt!"_ **

**_"Creepy child!"_ **

**_"You're a plague!"_ **

"And I won't lose my way because of other's voices either!"

**_"thIs tImE, yOU'll bE thE OnE tO dIE!"_ **

**_"Murderer!"_ **

**_"You're the one who killed her!"_ **

"I'm going to trust my own eyes and my own heart to separate the truth from the lies!"

**_"It's yOUr fAUlt! It's All yOUr fAAAUlt!!!"_ **

**_"Don't come near me!"_ **

**_"You killed her!"_ **

**_"Why don't you say something?!"_ **

The entire pyramid started to quake and glow with patterns of a computer's circuit board in a luminous neon green light as Futaba shut her eyes, clenched her fists tightly, took a deep breath in, and…

**_"Would you just SHUT UUUUUP!!!"_ **

All of the voices went silent and Monster Wakaba screamed in pain from her booming scream before slamming into the ground.

"Like I'd listen to **anything** a monster like **you** would say?!" Futaba shouted angrily, pointing at it. "There's no way you're my mom! You're just a fake created by those horrid adults! And I… I'll never…!" Shadow Futaba emerged from her true self being set ablaze in blue fire. **_"I'LL NEVER FORGIVE THEM!"_ **

The somber pharaoh girl that was her Shadow transmogrified into the flying UFO that was her Persona, Necronomicon, flying overhead in the radiant green lights coming from its surface.

"What is that?!" Panther exclaimed, shocked by its emergence. From the bottom, a tractor beam wall formed in a circle around her and alien tentacles started coming down and wrapping around its pint sized master's body and lifting her up, abducting her.

"What the- Huh?" Futaba slightly panicked. " **Whoa!** What's with the hen-tentacles?!" After being lifted up into the flying saucer, Futaba found herself in a small space, surrounded by all sorts of screens and holograms. One screen in particular had an image of her chibi face smiling at her as her Persona spoke to her.

**_"Contract. I am thou, thou art I. The forbidden truth has been revealed. No mysteries. No lies shall deceive you any longer."_ **

As Futaba started playing with her setup a bit, she heard Queen calling out to her. "Futaba!" she shouted.

Futaba opened up a communication link with the thieves. "I'm okay!" she assured them. She shined a spotlight on Joker and Panther.

"Huh? What's up?" Panther asked.

"H-Hey… please. Help me," Futaba requested. "That **thing's** gotta go!"

The couple looked at each other and smiled. Then Joker shot a thumbs up at her. "On it, kid," he said.

From there, the Phantom Thieves, aided by the Palace Ruler turned Persona user, proceeded to completely overwhelm the wrathful cognitive demon, with Futaba providing the thieves a ballista to shoot it down to the ground, as well as protection from her attacks.

Nearing the climax of the fight, the cognitive Wakaba had been shot down again and began cursing Futaba again.

**_"fUtAbAAA! It's All bEcAUsE I hAd yOU... yOU dId thIs! yOU scrEwEd Up my lIfE! All yOU dId wAs gEt In thE wAy Of my rEsEArch! I wIsh I nEvEr hAd yOU!"_ **

"You still have the energy to keep spouting that bullshit?!" Joker barked.

"We all know Futaba-chan's real mom never thought that way!" Panther shouted.

**_"nO! ThAt's ExActly whAt I AlwAys thOUght! If fUtAbA wAsn't ArOUnd, I-"_ **

"That's a lie! Mom told me herself!" Futaba objected! "She said that no matter what, she could keep working so hard because of me… The one who decided my existence was a burden on her was myself! No one else!"

**_"nO mAttEr hOw mUch yOU strUgglE, yOU'll nEvEr EscApE mE! yOU'll bE tOrmEntEd by yOUr pErsOnAl gUIlt FOREVER!"_ **

Joker started laughing out loud. _"Looks like you really don't understand who_ **_we_ ** _are!"_ he said.

"If it gets to be too much for her, that's what **we're** here for!" Panther shouted. "We've got her back, no matter what!"

**_“b-bUt… thAt’s ImpOssIblE…!”_ **

“No! With them, even the **impossible** can be made possible!” Futaba smiled at the image of Joker and Panther on one of her screens. “And they went through all this trouble just to help me! There’s no way I’m leaving them behind!”

The cognitive demon glared intensely at Necronomicon, and by extension, Futaba, before sprouting her wings and lifting off, heading straight towards her!

“Futaba-chan, look out!” Queen shouted. Futaba frantically ascended into the air as fast as she could with the monster hot on her trail, inching closer and closer to her while trying to strike her massive sphinx paws. With her sensors giving off a proximity alarm, Futaba looked back to see the monster just entered striking distance.

 **_“Ah…! Aw crap…!”_ **she gasped. When the right paw was about to hit her, the monster was hit from her left side with a Curse and Fire blast, just in time to divert the strike's direction and save her.

“Those looked like they were shot point blank!” Queen pointed out.

“Wait… Where are Joker and Panther?!” Morgana asked, seeing that the two are missing. That was when everyone heard the loud screams of Joker and Panther as their Personas, Arsene and the newly evolved Hecate, appeared in the air, fighting back Monster Wakaba. The demon tried to brush it off and kept up its pursuit of the hacker.

 **_“fUtAbA! fUtAbA, fUtAbA, fUtAbAAAAAAAA!”_ **It cried out in pain when it felt the lashings of Panther’s whip on her back as the blonde whipped at her, tightly holding onto Joker as he dug his knife into its back as well.

“ **Stay away from her!** ” Panther shouted. Futaba ascended higher as the demon chased after her.

**_“dAmn brAts! It dOEsn’t mAttEr whAt yOU sAy! fUtAbA Is MY prOpErty! dEfyIng OnE’s mOthEr Is AbsOlUtEly dIsgrAcEfUl!”_ **

“ **Too bad!** ” Joker exclaimed. “We’re taking Futaba to where she belongs!” Arsene and Hecate charged up for one finishing blast. “ **Back to the world! With us!** ”

**_“shUt Up! shUt UUUUUUUUUP!!!”_ **

The two attacks blasted her wings, utterly destroying them, but at the same time, the demon had gotten close enough to Futaba to smack her Persona, sending it spiraling out of control before it disappeared. As the demon’s ascent slowed to a stop, Joker and Panther saw Futaba screaming and falling fast back towards the ground and immediately jumped off of the monster’s back to chase after her. The four on the ground watch on in horror as the three keep falling, with the demon looking to be nose diving after them.

“Oh God…!” Queen gasped.

“Are they going to make it?!” Yusuke grunted.

“They can make it! I know they can!” Mona exclaimed.

“GUYS, HURRY!” Skull shouted at them.

Futaba frantically flailed her arms around as she was sent free falling in the air until she heard Joker and Panther calling out to her. She stabilized herself enough to be on her back looking up at them.

“ **Come on! Grab on!”** Joker shouted as he and Panther reached out to her. Futaba hurriedly threw out both of her hands to grab onto theirs. When she finally grabbed hold of Joker’s, they all pulled each other close, holding each other tightly.

“It’s okay! It’s okay, we’ve got you!” Panther told her.

**_“fUtAbAAAAAAA…!”_ **

They all looked up to see the demon screaming and trying to swat at them, looking more crazed and deranged than before.

**_“If Only I hAd nEvEr bIrthEd yOU!!!”_ **

**“Oh, just piss off already!”** Joker yelled as he whipped his pistol, aiming for her head. He immediately discovered that it is very difficult aiming for a precise headshot as everyone was free falling, calling on his Persona, Anzu, to zoom after the three to catch them. As he is trying to aim, Panther and, to the couple’s surprise, Futaba grabbed onto his arm to straighten it out and help him. Futaba, with a newfound fire in her eyes, glared intently into the monster’s eyes.

“No matter what you say to me!” she yelled. “ **I will live! …** **_FIIIRE!!!_ **” With a sinister red eyed smile in his face, Joker pulled the trigger and the bullet pierced straight through the monster’s head. As the creature let out a final death cry, Anzu swooped to catch the three and they watched as it crashed into the side of the pyramid and disappeared in a blast of black fog.

As the couple heaved a deep sigh of relief after the end of the intense battle, Futaba latched tightly onto Joker, her body still shaking. Joker let her hang onto him while Panther rubbed her back.

“You okay, kiddo?” Joker asked as he commanded Anzu to land.

“... Mm hm… I’m okay…” Futaba mumbled, squeezing him tighter. “... **_Thank you…_ **”

From then on, the little hacker's heart began opening up to them a little.

**xxx**

After she recovered from her rest from all that madness and near the end of her people training, Futaba asked Akira to call Ann over in the evening without disclosing the reason.

"So, what did Futaba want me for?" Ann asked, sitting at one of the booths as she and Akira waited.

"No clue," Akira said. "She didn't tell me." That was when Akira got a text on his phone.

**Futaba: Come outside.**

Akira signaled Ann to follow him outside. The two came out of the cafe and saw Futaba and Morgana waiting for them, a bucket full of fireworks next to Futaba.

"I wanna light fireworks," she said bluntly. "Can we? I bought some."

"W-Wait, what?" Ann asked, surprised.

" **Fi-re-works.** Can we light some?"

“No, we got **that** ,” Akira said. “But… you went by yourself?”

“Mm hm. I ran into Mona on the way back… Sooo… we gonna do this or not?”

The couple looked at each other and just shrugged. “U-Uh… Yeah, sure,” Akira said.

Futaba gave them a big toothy grin before running into the cafe. “Cool! I’ll go get Sojiro.”

With no real complaints about having fun with fireworks, the two just went with the flow and lit some sparklers with her, Morgana, and Sojiro. Morgana ended up going back inside because he got tired of the smoke and Sojiro went to get the shop ready for closing, leaving the three to blaze through the rest of the fireworks.

“Y’know, I don’t think I’ve ever played with sparklers in the streets like this,” Ann smiles.

“I have a few times,” Akira pointed out. “Pretty good times.”

“G-Glad you guys are having fun,” Futaba mumbled. “Considering… uh… Never mind.” She tried to hide her tracks, but that little bit was all Akira needed to see her true intentions.

“... Hold on,” Akira said. “Futaba… is all this because of what you heard before?”

“Huh? What did she hear?” Ann asked.

“When I brought up our beach trip to the old man today, he mentioned how it would make up for the festival that got rained on before. Told her everything…” Akira looked toward the blushing hacker. “So I’m wondering if she’s doing this because of that.”

Futaba bashfully straightened out her glasses while stealing glances at them. “W-Well… Maybe…”

“Wait, for real?!” Ann asked, surprised. “But wait. Why didn’t you call the others? Why just me?”

“Um… R-Remember all that stuff you two did for me when I was stuck…? And also… inside my Palace when you talked to me… and hopped onto that monster’s back to save me…?” She brushed her arm up and down nervously. “I… really appreciate everyone for what they did for me, but… I appreciate you two the most, so um… **thanks.** ” That reveal puts a big smile on the couple’s faces. Ann’s more than Akira’s.

 _“Awww, Futaba?!”_ Ann squealed. _“Oh my God, that is so sweet!”_

“Yeah. That’s really sweet of you, Futaba,” Akira said. “Thanks.” Futaba just nervously giggled and scratched her pink cheek with her finger.

And a little more, her heart opened up…

**xxx**

A few days later in the evening…

Morgana: " **Whoooa! Akira, slow down!"**

Akira: **"OUT OF MY WAY! OUT OF MY WAY!"**

Akira was frantically bolting through the Shibuya station, trying to find the line that'll take him to Akihabara. After the Sakura sushi dinner, Futaba decided to top it all off by going down to Electric Town to buy a game with Akira. The problem was she wanted to go on ahead and meet him there, which he knew would not end well. So, he ran the fastest he had ever run through the usual crowd of people. And that soon backfired because…

**_*SLAM!*_ **

He ended slamming into someone and falling to the ground.

" **Ow! God!** Watch where you're going!" the person shouted as they got up.

"S-Sorry, I'm kinda in a… Oh!" Akira turned around to apologize and saw that it was Ann he crashed into.

"Akira, you classless moron! You crashed into Lady Ann!" Morgana hissed.

"Aw geez! Sorry, Ann!" Akira exclaimed. "You okay?!"

"Yeah, it's okay," Ann said. "I'm okay."

"It is most certainly **not!** Honestly, Akira!" Morgana shouted. "First, you mess up with my sushi! Now **this?!** You really need to take a class on- **_Mraowr!_ **" Akira shoved Morgana's head back in the bag and zipped it close.

"I don't have time for you crap, kitty!" Akira barked.

“What’s the big rush?” Ann asked.

“Futaba wanted to go down to Akihabara to buy a game, so we’re heading down there.”

“Then… where is she?”

“ **That’s** why I’m hurrying! She went **by herself!** To a **super crowded place!** ”

…

And with that, the rush was back on. This time, Ann was frantically dashing while dragging Akira by his arm.

Akira: **_“_** ** _Uwah~!”_ **

Morgana: **_“Lady Ann, you too?!”_ **

Ann: **"OUT OF MY WAY! OUT OF MY WAY!"**

**xxx**

**Later in Electric Town…**

Ann: “ **Futaba?!** ”

Akira: “ **FU-TA-BA!!!** ”

Akira and Ann were sweating bullets trying to find the pint sized girl in the massive electronics store with no luck.

“Mmm~! Where is she?!” Ann panicked. Suddenly, Akira heard sniffling off in the distance and turned to see a crying Futaba talking to a worried police officer.

“ **Hey!** There she is!” he exclaimed, pointing toward them. **“Futaba!** ” Futaba, hearing his call, turned to them and immediately ducked behind the two as they approached.

“Do you two know this girl?” the officer asked.

“Y-Yeah! She’s our baby sister!” Ann blurted out.

“Little girl, is that true?” he asked Futaba. Futaba nodded vigorously. “Alright then. You three take care now, okay?”

“Thank you, officer,” Akira said as they walked away. “Sorry for the trouble.”

They found a spot in front of the massage chairs to sit and calm Futaba down, Ann holding her close while Akira stroked her back and Morgana sat in her lap.

 _“S-Sorry... I-I thought I c-conquered my fears b-back at the b-beach...”_ Futaba muttered, shaking like a leaf.

“There, there. It’s okay,” Ann said in a comforting tone.

“So, what happened?” Morgana asked.

_“T-There wasn’t I knew with me, s-so I p-panicked. F-Felt like my heart was gonna p-pop… I-I got so scared all by myself… then I-I just sorta curled up into a ball… T-Then all these people started staring at me… and the police came… and then it was all over…”_

“Don’t worry. If you’re ever in trouble, you can call me or Akira,” Ann said. “Especially Akira. He’ll never let you down.”

“Call you or Akira… Okay.” Futaba caught eye of one of Ann's twintails right in front of her face and immediately put her face in it.

“Whoa, whoa… W-What’re you doing?” Ann asked nervously, obviously uncomfortable with someone literally getting in her hair.

“Looked fluffy. Wanted to put my face in it,” she said bluntly.

“What are you? A remora?” Akira chuckled. 

“Maybe. Ya mind, Ann?”

“U-Um… okay? W-Whatever floats your boat,” Ann said. Futaba heaved a deep sigh into her hair.

“Urgh… Couldn’t even go buy a game by myself,” she mumbled. “I’m a failure...”

“Hey, don’t say that,” Akira said. “Not only did you leave the house. You made it all the way here through the crowds. **All by yourself.** I say you’re doing pretty good so far.”

 _“Ma-a-an, you guys sure as hell look like two older siblings and their baby sister-r-r~!”_ Ryuji said.

“Speaking of, why’d you guys call me your baby sister back there?”

“Um... I dunno,” Ann said. “It just kinda slipped out and- **Wait a minute!** ” The four looked forward and saw Ryuji having a good time in a massage chair.

“What the- Ryuji?! How long have **you** been there?!” Morgana exclaimed.

 _“Si-i-ince way before you guys came by-y-y~,”_ he said.

 _“Why~ are you talking like that~?”_ Akira asked.

_“Yo-o-ou can’t tell me you haven’t done this befo-o-ore~.”_

“Yeah, when I was **five.** God, you’re such a little kid,” Ann groaned. Futaba lifted her head out of Ann’s hair, interested in the massage chair.

“... I like massage chairs.”

**Five minutes later…**

Ak+Mo+Ryu+Fu: _“A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-Ah~!”_

Ann: _“Oka-a-ay, this is still fu-u-un~!”_

All of the silly and serious moments brought these three misfits closer together than anyone else on the team. And pretty much everyone knew that.

**xxx**

**Back to the Present…**

“She might be a bit of a handful at times,” Akira says. “But… I wouldn’t trade her anything else.”

“To be honest, I’m kinda worried if she’ll be alright on her own after we graduate,” Ann admits. “I mean, I know she’s made a lot of friends since she enrolled, but…”

“She’ll be fine. And if anything happens, she can call us… And with that, the water’s starting to get cold.” As the couple steps out of the bath, Akira’s eyebrows rise a bit when he remembers something. “Oh yeah. I still need to come up with a reward for her when she graduates.”

“Did she ever give you any hints?” Ann asks as she wraps a towel around herself.

“She told me she wanted to find a month’s supply of instant yakisoba in the real world… which is **so** not happening.”

“Well, you have another year to think about it. And tell you what. I’ll try to come up with something too.”

After the two dry off and slip into their pajamas, the two check on Futaba in the guest bedroom and find her fast asleep in bed already. And the sight of her peaceful innocent sleeping face makes Ann smile.

“That’s one thing you two have in common,” Ann says to Akira. “You’re both so cute when you’re sleeping.”

“Hey, so are you. That makes the three of us… Hm...”

Ann turns to her man. “What’s on your mind?”

“Huh? Oh, it’s nothing. C’mon. Time for bed.” As Akira leads Ann to her bedroom, he looks back at the guest bedroom door with a thought that would stick with him longer than he thought. Checking on her sleeping in that room in particular for consecutive nights…

_If Ann’s okay with it… that might not be so bad._

* * *

**Target: Hit**

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! :)  
> I plan on making this a part of a series that compiles a bunch of random events that I wanted to write about, but didn't make it into the main series. Just something on the side to work on and something I can update when I can't post a new main series chapter.


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